What is the difference between a Radio Network, a Telecommunications Network, and a Computer Network?
In the network science world, you may be confused between this word or network types.
All of these network types focus on transmitting data, sharing resources, and …
However, the main difference between them is their purposes, technologies, and the types of data they handle.
So, we are going the explain and compare them one by one.
1. Radio Networks
A radio network is mainly used to share and broadcast audio and videos, They are commonly used for radio broadcasting, AM/FM radio, and television broadcasting.
The way they transmit data is by using radio waves and the type of data is both analog and digital signals.
Some examples are public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery services, also used in broadcast networks.
Radio and TV programs also use this type of network to broadcast audio and video (most of them using the internet nowadays).
Most Radio Networks are one-to-many or simple communication, But we have two-way or duplex communication in radio networks.
2. Telecommunications Networks
A Telecommunications network is designed to share and transmit data, voice, and multimedia over long distances.
Telecommunications networks use a combination of technologies, including wired methods such as fiber optics and copper cables, as well as wireless communication methods like cellular and satellite technologies. These networks often enable bidirectional communication, which allows for interaction between both parties. Additionally, they can utilize circuit switching, message switching, or packet switching to transmit messages and signals.
The data type that Telecommunications Networks transmit and carry is text messages, voice, multimedia, and internet data. This network type also uses digital and analog signals.
3. Computer Networks
A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources and data located on or provided by network nodes.
A computer Network can be wired or wireless, they transmit and share resources and data in binary and digital data over the network, and in fact, it can be everything, most computer networks use TCP/IP protocol suite.
Use cases of computer networks are sharing files, emails, web pages, and real-time application data.
conclusion
while all three types of networks involve the transmission of data, they serve different purposes and use various technologies. Radio networks focus on broadcasting audio and video content, telecommunications networks facilitate communication over long distances, and computer networks enable data sharing and resource access among connected devices.
In some cases like Wikipedia, they count Computer networks as telecommunications network, in general, these 2 type is a little similar or combined from what I found on the internet.
Resources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_network
- https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-radio-network-a-telecommunications-network-and-a-computer-network
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_network
- https://www.barclaycomms.com/telecommunications-and-computer-networks-what-are-they/
